Been a month since my last update which I apologize. With that and my birthday being less then a week I decided to go ahead with uploading this new chapter. Disclaimer, I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 4
Coerce

"Should we be doing this?" muttered Hinata.

"Why not?" countered Naruto. "This is something that couples do on occasion." Giving a smile he leaned over to where he was mere inches from his girlfriend's face. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"N-No." answered Hinata who backed away and light trace of a blush. Composing herself she explained what she meant earlier. "I just mean is it right to do this at such a time?"

"It's just a date, Hinata." Naruto defended. True to his word, the two of them were sitting at a table outside of a restaurant. It was a small place and was more casual which was something that both of them preferred. "Is that so wrong?"

"It isn't." admitted his date. Hinata ran her finger over the rim of her glass as she felt hesitant in saying why she was having such a problem. "But shouldn't you be out there…patrolling." She said that as vague as possible to keep anyone from understanding what she truly meant.

"Maybe but what I'm doing now is more important at the moment." Reaching over Naruto placed his hand over his girlfriend's. "I know that I've been busy with the whole Danzo/ROOT situation. Along with dealing with other duties, we haven't had much time to simply be with one another." That was true as there were occasions that they would only see one another long enough to say hello and goodbye.

"Despite all of the crap that I've gone through, some of which you were inadvertently got involved, you've remained at my side. You're one of the best things that I have in my life, Hinata. Don't want to imagine how it would be if you weren't with me and I'll do all I can to prevent that from becoming reality."

What had been said deeply touched Hinata as she became a bit misty eyed. "I feel the same way too, Naruto." The two of them stared at one another in the eye as they slowly leaned closer to each other.

They started to kiss tenderly and continued to do so until Hinata suddenly broke it up. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw someone watching us." Staring in the direction that her girlfriend was looking back, Naruto saw no one. Before he could say that, Hinata already had her Byakugan activated. After about a minute she deactivated the ability.

"Guess I was just seeing things." A slightly bashful expression appeared as she looked at the blond. "Now, where were we?" Resuming where they left they enjoyed the rest of their date. However, a nagging feeling remained in the back of Naruto's mind.

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"It happened again." The next day following the date, Naruto went to talk with the Hokage. Reason why was to discuss what had happened the previous night. "Please tell me that you found out what's going on." By the sound of it, this wasn't he first time the subject was brought up.

"I'm afraid not." Tsunade grudgingly confessed. "All we know is that you're not the only ones that this has been happening to. Other members of the squad that were involved in the Akatsuki mission have also noticed that they've been observed."

"Could it be more of those Land of Wood guys?" What had been said was something that Naruto already knew but figured that now wasn't the time to make some sarcastic remark. "Maybe this is some kind of backup plan they had."

"That has already been looked into." informed Shizune. Being the assistant and close friend of the Hokage, she knew of the situation and had aided in the investigation. "Those involved in the incident were interrogated and we learned that they have nothing to do with what's going on. In fact, they had no intention of killing any of the people that they took as hostages."

"Apparently it was their leader who had come up with the whole plan." elaborated the Hokage from where Shizune stopped. "That same person who's beheaded body was found a few days ago."

"Possible that it was just a coincidence that Danzo made his escape as the incident was taking place?" Naruto questioned even though he knew the answer. "Hate to admit it but that was a clever move."

"Perhaps that's not the only thing he's involved in." What Shizune was alluding to was left hanging in the air to allow Naruto could put the pieces together himself. "Of those who have been spied on, they were the ones that are in your generation."

"We presume that ROOT will try to make contact you guys." the sannin clarified. "Maybe to use the newly acquired acclaim to get support of the Fire Nation lords if he were to try to plead his case in being declared as the new Hokage." The mere thought of it disgusted Tsunade. "That or get rid of you because it would show that the teachings that the previous Hokages have established are more suitable for Konoha."

"Well, with options like that it'll make it difficult to come up with a decision." Naruto remained silent for a while as he wondered if he should ask the question that he was thinking. "Should I tell Hinata this? You said that I shouldn't tell her but don't you think that we should tell her and the others?"

"We were thinking of doing that." Shizune professed. "But those who are connected in this are gone on missions. The only exceptions are you, Hinata, Sakura, Ino, Lee and Kin. We already informed Sakura and she said that she'll tell Ino. Lee and Kin are to return from their honeymoon this week so they'll be told when they returned. As for the final other person, since you live with the person you could us the trouble."

"Oh, thanks." muttered Naruto. "She's not going to be happy when she hears this. I'm likely to get an earful for not telling her sooner." That only caused Tsunade and Shizune to laugh. Annoyed by the response that was given he got up and left the office with the faint sounds of laughter still being heard from behind the door.

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Next Morning…

"I'm coming." While rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Hinata headed for the door. Opening it she saw that the person on the other side was Sakura. Hello there, Sakura. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Sorry for waking you, Hinata." apologized Sakura. "Is Naruto here? We were supposed to meet an hour ago to practice some team tactics but he never showed. Thought that maybe he might've overslept or something."

All remaining sleep that Hinata may have had vanished as she heard what was said. "He's not here. He probably stopped at Ichiraku Ramen having one his gorges of ramen."

"I've checked already." Sakura stated. "He wasn't there. I've checked all of us usual hangouts and no one has seen him." She tried to not sound worried but wasn't completely successful. "Hopefully he's all right. We knew that there was a possibility of something like this happening but still."

"What are you talking about?" wondered a very suspicious Hinata. "Does it have anything to do with what I thought was nothing?"

Mentally Sakura cursed to herself for the inadvertent slip. "Damn it, Naruto. Why couldn't you tell her before this happened?" Seeing the hard stare that the Hyuga was giving her, Sakura conceded. "There's something you should know Hinata. For the last few days…"

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"Mind telling why I'm here?" After leaving the Hokage's office, Naruto was making his way home to tell Hinata what was going on. He was about halfway there when someone managed to get behind him and placed a chloroformed rag over his face. Before he had the chance to break free, the affects eventually knocked him out. When he finally came to he saw himself in a chair with his arms and legs bound.

While uncertain of where he was, Naruto did recognize who was holding him there. "Not this again." In the room with him were people wearing ANBU-like attire. Since it was highly unlikely that the ones that these guys were under Tsunade's command would be behind this, it left only the members of ROOT. Try as he might, he couldn't break free of his restraints. "All right, stay calm. No need to lose my bearings. Kyuubi, can you hear me?"

"Yes you fool. How could you allow yourself be ambush like you were?" Despite the reprimanding that he was given, Naruto was relieved to hear the demon fox. "Fortunately, it seems as though they haven't used the same type of drugs that they did on Fox. Regrettably, they're using the same restraints as before. Both of our chakra is being cut off."

"Just means we have to wait for the right opening to escape." Naruto surmised. "Until then, let's gather as much information as possible."

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened and in walked Danzo, flanked by more of his men. Nothing was said by the captive blond. Let the captor start things off as something useful might be learned.

"Naruto Uzumaki." greeted Danzo in a calm voice. "What a pleasure it is to meet you."

"Oh, I'm sure it is. If you were to release me I would gladly show my appreciation." While Naruto wanted to get whatever info he could, he couldn't hide the distain that he had for the man. "Let's just cut all of this bullshit. Tell me why you abducted me."

The attitude that he gave almost resulted in him being hit by one of the ROOT agents but it was prevented when Danzo motioned for them not to. "Now, there's no need for such hostility. I merely wish to discuss something with you." Naruto stopped himself from saying the retort that he had on the tip of his tongue. "You truly have become a remarkable shinobi. You've fought the likes of Orochimaru, Itachi and those of the Akatsuki and come out alive says a lot to your abilities."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere." Naruto muttered, not taking his eyes off of the war hawk. "Mind getting to the part where you explain why I'm here? If not then use the chloroform before I fall asleep from boredom." This time there wasn't any prevention of being hit as he was struck with a punch to the face.

"Brash and speak your mind. You're just like your parents." Danzo's comparison stopped whatever remark that Naruto may have had as he stared at him in surprise. "You're suspicions are accurate. I know of your heritage." There was no way to tell whether his men knew what he was referring to.

"Now, care to hear what I have to say?" Naruto's silence was the only indication for him to go on. "We managed to get a hold of a copy of the mission report of exterminating the Akatsuki. From what had been indicated, you were the only one present when the explosion caused by the one known as Fox took out top three Akatsuki's members."

"What of it? It was a big explosion but nothing that stood out." While Naruto was playing it off, he was mentally trying to figure out what he was trying to get at.

"Curious though, was there anything strange that happened shortly after the explosion?" questioned Danzo offhandedly. "Maybe there was something that emerged from the destruction."

Having an idea what he was alluding to, Naruto decided to test it. "Why so curious? Wondering if Fox survived?" Unable to help himself, the bound blond smiled as he continued with the questioning. "Heard what happened between you two. Worried that he'll come after you again?"

Finally a sign of anger showed itself on Danzo's face at the accusation that was made. "Don't presume that I fear some demon that tries to masquerade as human." Naruto had to clinch his mouth shut to keep from inadvertently revealing his alter ego. "Fox's possible survival notwithstanding, I was curious to know whether they were any sign of the tailed beasts that allegedly were in the Akatsuki's possession managed to escape and if so where."

"Tailed beasts?" Naruto repeated, keeping up with the dumb act. "Are you talking about the nine demons that have one to nine tails that indicates how powerful each one is?" He recalled six beams of multicolored light shooting up into the air before going off in different directions. "Sorry, didn't really see anything during the whole confusion. So if you don't mind releasing me I'll take my leave."

"Unfortunately that can't be done." apologized Danzo that lacked any trace of sincerity. "I believe that you know more than you're telling. Also, you're usefulness doesn't end there." Without giving any type of indication the door to the room opened and in walked someone that Naruto vaguely recalled knowing.

"Inochi Yamanaka? Don't tell me he's-" The allegation that he was about to make was cut off when moments later two other ROOT agents also entered the room and bushed the Yamanaka further in.

"Begin." Danzo simply commanded.

When Inochi recognized the bound blond he gave the old war hawk a shocked look. "What is this? I never agreed to this?"

"I could give a damn what you agreed to or not." was the simply retort. "With my subordinate, Fū Yamanaka currently unavailable, you're the only person who can carry out what I require." That was followed up with Danzo giving a menacing glare with his one exposed eye. "So if you want your daughter to be let go unharmed you'll do as you're told."

"Ah, now I get it." Naruto managed to deduce. "I'm starting to understand. You're going to have him probe my mind to see if I was telling the truth. What's the matter? Don't you believe me?"

"Shinobi are taught to be deceptive. Also, that's only a part of the reason why you were brought here. Both you and the Fifth Hokage are close." Naruto was already having an unease feeling at what that could be leading to. "Some would say that she considers you a close confidant. That must allow you to have some influence on her."

"To the point that it would make me the best spy to discover whatever the Hokage might plan." Naruto concluded. "Since there's no way that I would do such a thing, you'll mess with my head so I'll be obedient as your other lapdogs." The little verbal jab wasn't appreciated by the members of ROOT but the blond paid them no mind. "It won't work."

"We shall see. Begin."

Having no other choice, Inochi stood in front of the captive blond. "I'm sorry. I don't have any other choice."

"No need for apologizes. You're not to blame for any of this."

Placing a hand on his head, the Yamanaka started to push his consciousness into patient's mind. Once inside he was met with murky and foggy hallway that led to a large doorway. What stood out about it though was that it had a giant metal gate that had a piece of paper on it that had the word 'Seal' on it.

"What is this?" Stepping closer, the mind walker felt an ominous coming from behind the gate. "There's no way that a child could have such a presence. It's almost as though there's a separate consciousness residing here."

Suddenly a large mouth filled with several fangs appeared from the darkness and was joined by a pair of giant red eyes that set their sights on individual in front of him. "Look who dares to dwell within my domain. You're ignorance should be punished by death." The decree was followed by the ominous feeling that was felt before intensifying.

"Quit with the dramatics, Kyuubi." spoke up someone new. Appearing beside the gate was Naruto. His whole posture was calm but hints of unease managed to creep through. "Good to see that you arrived here without trouble. This would be awkward if you were left here without explanation."

"What is going on?" questioned Inochi. "You shouldn't be able to show yourself or communicate. It's not possible."

"I've been known to do things that were said to be impossible but I can't take all the credit on this one. You might as well come out." From behind the gate the partial face was replaced by an image of Fox. "Let me introduce you to my partner, Fox. He's also known as the nine-tailed fox, Kyuubi."

What was said was a lot for Inochi to take in as he had a shocked expression on his face. "A lot to take in I know and explanations will be given later. Right now though, we have to figure out how we're going to get out of this."

"What are you talking about? My daughter's safety is on the line and I'm not going to do anything that'll put her jeopardy." the elder Yamanaka argued.

"So you're willing to mess with a person's mind and make them a slave?" Kyuubi shot back. "Bet your daughter will really appreciate your line of reasoning."

"Enough." Naruto intervened. "You want to protect someone that's precious to you. I can understand that. However, you must realize that Danzo won't truly let you and Ino go. He'll either manipulate you to continue doing his bidding or simply kill you once it's over. Trust me, I know that he doesn't give a damn about anything expect for fulfilling his ambitions."

"Be that as it may, I can risk the safety of my daughter." Inochi begrudgingly confessed. "They'll kill us if I don't do as they want. There's no other way."

"So Danzo wants someone that subservient to him?" Kyuubi concurred in amusement. "Then that's what we're going to give him." While the blond haired the mind walker had no clue what he meant, Naruto already had suspicion on what his demonic tenant was thinking and had to smile at the possibility.

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Removing his hand from Naruto's head, Inochi let out a sigh of relief. "The process is done." Wiping away the perspiration from his forehead, he looked over to Danzo. It proved more difficult than expected. I was only able to install a temporary seal. Now I want to see my daughter."

"I'm a man of my word. My men will take you to her." Going along with them, Inochi left the room, leaving Danzo and Naruto as the only people there. "Put only a temporary seal? That just won't do."

Taking off the bandages on the side of his face it revealed that porition of his face was unscathed and the right eye was shut. "Can you hear me?" All that was given was a small nod of the head. "Lift your head and look me in the face." Sluggishly Naruto did as requested. "Now, I want you to look me in the face." Again the request was followed.

Soon as they were looking each other in the eye, Danzo snapped his right eye open and revealed it to be a Sharingan. The reaction from the reveal was instant as Naruto's eyes shot open before slopping back down. "That should make the affects more permanent." Feeling confident in his tactics he covered his Sharingan eye and released his captive from his restraints but Naruto remained where he was sitting.

"Rise and go eliminate the two Yamanakas." ordered Danzo. "No need to have any variables out there." When no movement was made, the war hawk got annoyed. "Didn't you hear me? Do as you're told."

"Yes." acknowledged Naruto in a monotone voice. He started to make his way but stopped when he was a few feet from the door. "On second thought, I think that I won't." All of a sudden, he spun around and with one of his restraints threw it and acting on instinct, Danzo knocked the projectile away. Having his attention directed momentary elsewhere it allowed Naruto to get out of the room and locked it behind him. "Sorry to cut this short but I need to be going." Ignoring the multiple curses that Danzo was sending him, he was on the move.

Hurrying, Naruto soon caught up to Inochi, who was fighting with the ROOT agents that escorted earlier. "Sorry for the wait. I got held up." The unexpected assistance proved essential as they managed to immobilize the opposition.

Searching them they found keys and used them to unlock the neighboring door to reveal a heavily bound Ino. "Dad! ...Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"Run now, talk later." Quickly freeing the young blonde they were going to make their escape but their exit was blocked by more ROOT agents. Along with them was a very irritate Danzo.

"I'm very disappointed. You failed to do as I requested, Inochi." No remark was given by the Yamanaka matriarch as he placed himself in front of his daughter. Shifting his attention to the other blond he narrowed his eyes toward him. "And you. How were you able to prevent my mind control?"

"What can I say? I'm just full of surprises." Naruto shrugged off. That changed as he gave a knowing smile. "Speaking of surprises, imagine the one I had when you revealed your little secret. Curious on how you managed to obtain such a thing."

While the two Yamanakas had no clue what they were talking, there was no sign of clarification coming. Not wanting his little secret to become widely known, Danzo was going to make sure that didn't happen. "What a clever boy. Unfortunately, that all comes to an end."

Recognizing the severity of the situation the three blonds backed away as the enemy closed in. "Got any ideas on how to get out of this?" Naruto mentally asked the demon dwelling within him. "I've got a few but I haven't recovered the necessary chakra to do any of them."

"That's something I can assist in." stated Kyuubi. "I have an idea what you're planning and I'll give you the necessary amount of chakra." Slowly the demonic chakra began to course through Naruto's body that fortunately wasn't detected by anyone there.

Doing a quick hand sign two clones appeared, with each of them being in front and behind the three captives. The one that was in front of them already started to create a Rasengan. "Call your dogs off. We wouldn't want my clone to start smashing this place apart."

Without the slightest hesitation, Danzo signaled for his men to continue going forward. "Such bravado. Such a shame that it comes from someone who'll soon be dead." While it wasn't mentioned but it was noticed that Danzo remained behind his men. "Do you actually believe that additional clones will save you?"

In response, the clone in front of the group gave a similar look that was given to the war hawk earlier. "As a matter of fact…yes." Suddenly, the explosion occurred behind the three blonds that caused a huge cloud of dust and debris. The cloud was dispersed with a simple wind justsu but when it was gone so were Naruto and the two Yamanakas.

"What do you know? It worked." remarked the one Naruto clone that still had a Rasengan in hand. "But wait. There's more." Surprisingly, instead of using the Rasengan as expected, the clone let the attack disappear. "Bye." With that the clone disappeared. In its place were two metal balls that fell to the floor. Seconds later, they went off in a huge explosion.

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Next Day…

"We gotten word from the ANBU and they've determined that the base that Danzo and ROOT were using has been completely abandoned." updated Tsunade. "Any evidence of them being there is faint to nonexistent. Regrettably, there's no way to track where they might've relocated to." The news of that wasn't something that the ones that heard it enjoyed. "Fortunately it'll halt whatever they could have planned for the time being. You should be commended for your actions."

"Thanks are needed, Hokage." Inochi waved off. "I was merely there to secure the safety of my daughter. It was not me that came up with the plan that was used."

"Wasn't must choice in the matter." expressed Naruto. "I was kidnapped and they held Ino hostage so her father would screw with my mind so I would be Danzo's puppet." Just the brief retelling of the incident angered the demon host. "They might've expected something from Inochi and luckily that lowered their guard with me."

"Still, it's quite the feat." The mood in the office changed to a more serious one. "Inochi, there is one more ting that is needed to be discussed. I believe you already know what it is." Clearly the matriarch of the Yamanaka family knew what the topic was. "You can see the severity of this situation and why it has to be kept hidden. Hopefully we can say that you're not planning on divulging such classified information."

All attention was focused squarely on Inochi as they waited for what his response could be. "You don't need to concern yourself with me. I'll keep quiet about this discovery." Unable to help himself, Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"I've already told my family that what happened is high classified and say nothing you authorized otherwise." Getting up he made his way out but stopped. "I don't envy you Naruto Uzumaki. Dealing with all of this and having to live basically a double life while having what is sealed within you. Don't allow them to consume you." With a small exchange of nods between them, Inochi took his leave.

When he was gone, both Naruto and Tsunade shifted focus on another subject that couldn't be discussed in the Yamanaka's presence. "He had a Sharingan?" the Hokage asked once more.

"Trust me. I'm sure." Naruto reassured. "Not sure but apparently it has some type of mind control ability. How could he have gotten a Sharingan?"

"He must've gotten it prior to the Uchiha Massacre. Would've been too difficult to acquire one and have it implanted otherwise." Tsunade theorized. "It was said that there was a Uchiha who had a Sharingan that could cause a person to do things that they normally wouldn't do without realizing it. His name was said to be Shinsui. How were you able to avoid being affected by it?"

"I'm not really sure myself. Maybe having two consciousnesses had something to do with it. One of the few reasons to be glad that to have a biju." A faint growl from Kyuubi could be heard in the back of Naruto's mind. "Things are going to get worse, aren't they?"

"Seems like it." Tsunade begrudgingly admitted. "This discovery confirms that this whole civil dispute to be even more difficult." Silently, the blond demon host was in agreement in the sannin's estimation.

Hoped you guys liked that chapter. I know that it doesn't make up for the sporadic updating but I hope that with the chapters being like they are helps it a bit. This story is near the halfway point and I promise you that there are some big things in store. Until I post another chapter, see ya.